Medical records requests for London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

Information on request for access to patient health card records (subject to access under the Data Protection Act 1998)

Application form

Complete the application for access to health records form and return this, signed and dated in the post with a cheque for £10 for the administration fee. We will contact you as soon as we can once we receive your application, (returning the form by hand will not enable us to speed up the administration process).

Photocopying fees

Photocopying fees are charged at 30p a sheet for the first 100 sheets, and thereafter at 10p a sheet. An invoice will be sent to the patient or applicant as soon as the fee has been calculated.

The charge for X-rays to be copied onto a CD-Rom is £20.

A maximum fee of £50 is set for copying all health records at the time of request. This includes X-Rays on CD.

All cheques should be made payable to London North West Healthcare Trust.

Failure to complete the form correctly will hinder the process of the health records being copied. Please state the dates or period from and to you require copies for.

If you require X-rays, please make that clear on the form. These will be copied onto a CD -Rom.

Duration guidelines

The administration and copying process can take up to 40 days on receiving the cheque. However we will endeavour, in line with DPA guidelines, to have your records ready within 21 days. Please note that if the request is for a current in-patient, the process will commence once the patient has been discharged, irrespective of when the access form was completed.

These timeframes are based on the date we receive the application and initial administration fee and any additional fee being received from you in cheque form. You will be sent an advice note indicating if there are any further charges once the copying is complete.

Proof of identity

We aim to ensure that only those entitled to view health records have access to them. Please help us avoid the risk of releasing personal information to unauthorised persons by providing us with proof of your identity.

When returning your application form please make sure you send the following documents:

Two original documents, for example, a household bill (gas, electricity, water, phone), which has your name and address on (all documents will be returned to you)

A photocopy of your driving licence or passport [do not send originals]

Should you have any enquiries concerning your application please call the Information Department on 020 8967 5789.

WARNING: the making of untrue statements in order to secure access to personal information to which you are not entitled is a criminal offence.

To view records only

You will need to complete the application form with proof of identification. You will be contacted to arrange a mutually-convenient time for you to visit the Medical Records Department, to read through your health records. If you view only and do not request to have any material copied there will be no charge. Please note that any medical questions you have cannot be dealt with on this visit. You will need to arrange to see your doctor if you want to discuss your treatment.

Please remember that health records are legal documents and you must not write in the records, remove any papers from them or alter the records in any way. If having read your records you feel that some information needs adding or amending then please put that request in writing to the Trust and, where relevant, we can have the information added to your file.